Why Does Every Twitter App for Android Suck?

Since I picked up the Galaxy Nexus I’ve spent more time on Android. The Nexus delivers one of the best Android experiences yet, but it reminds me of my biggest complaint with Android — the poor quality apps.

There’s no lack of apps on Android, but when you compare the quality of apps from iPhone to Android there is, more often than not, a noticeable difference in the visual appeal and usability. I could even live with ugly apps if the was easy to use, but those are also few and far between.

For the past few weeks I’ve tried to find a Twitter app for Android that doesn’t suck. Sadly, I’m still looking. Here’s what I’ve found and what I want.

Twitter Apps for Android I’ve Tried

Twitter – The basic Twitter app does a decent job, but at the end of the day it is just too basic. I feel like I am using a dumbed down version of Twitter when I try to use this.

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Tweetcaster – After seeing Chris Leckness using this app at CES I had high hopes, but Tweetcaster is too cartoony looking for my taste and it doesn’t help that tapping a tweet presents so many options you need to scroll.

Plume – I use this app most often. While it is the best I have found, I still find that it isn’t easy enough, or intuitive enough, to see what someone was replying to. It’s also very annoying that when you want to share a photo, the link is at the front of your text box, making the text entry annoying enough that it is better to avoid using the share functionality from most apps.

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Tweetdeck – I like that you can swipe between multiple columns, including lists, but overall this app still has issues for me. One that I always run into is the time it takes to ge to the top of my timeline. Even with the ability to jump to the top, it scrolls through all the tweets and will occasionally time out because there are so many messages.

Of those I have used, Plume and Tweetdeck have been the best, but both of them are still short of perfect for my use.

My Perfect Twitter App for Android

I want a Twitter app for Android that doesn’t require extra clicks and overload me with information I don’t want. Tweetcaster is the worst, but it is not the only offender.

It’s especially frustrating since this should be common sense, and because Google provides guidance on design for Android.

People get overwhelmed when they see too much at once. Break tasks and information into small, digestible chunks. Hide options that aren’t essential at the moment, and teach people as they go.

What I want a Twitter App to Do

Make it easy to see the message someone replied to.

Support for easy access to multiple lists.

Sensible presentation of buttons and actions.

Fast access to blocking and spam reporting.

Easy way to jump to the top of the timeline.

Ability to view native retweets.

Use of gestures and swipes to access functions.

So far, the best Twitter app I have used is Tweetbot for the iPhone. I love that I can reach the conversation be swiping to the right, replies by swiping to the left and the sensible options presented then you tap on a tweet. I also like that I can set any list as my main timeline with two taps. This makes it easy to jump between topics and groups.

I use twitter a lot, so I am perfectly fine with paying for a great Twitter app for Android. I bought Tweetbot on the iPhone for $, and would gladly pay the same amount, even a $5 or more, for an awesome Android Twitter app.

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Help me out. Is there a perfect Twitter app for Android waiting out there? Let me know in the comments.

Josh Smith is Editor of GottaBeMobile and Notebooks.com. He's always looking for ways to help you get the most of your gear and loves to talk about tech on radio and TV. Josh uses an iOS and Android devices as well as Mac and Windows Computers. Josh Smith on Google+
Email: [email protected]

21 COMMENTS

Twitter clients are very personal choices of course. I actually keep coming back to Seesmic on Android. For iOS, I use Echofon, mainly because it syncs tweets between the iOS and Mac clients; I never “re-read” tweets that way. ;)

I have the same issues as Josh. Can’t find a completely satisfying Twitter app for Android to save my life. I’m also super unhappy that apps developed for iOS by the same companies are so much shittier on Android.

The biggest culprit I’ve come across is HootSuite. I use their web interface every day and enjoy it. I can manage all of my Twitter and Facebook accounts easy, schedule posts, read just my lists, etc. But try doing that on Android and you get heartache.

The app crashes a lot and is generally unstable. There’s no tablet version. It often fails to send messages for no good reason. and it’s just not as attractive or smooth as the iOS versions. As a paying customer of HootSuite I’m frankly insulted they think the Android app is okay.

I agree with everything on Josh’s Want list and I’ll add one more: the app needs to handle notifications well and it needs to offer the user control over them. I can’t tell you how many times I get notifications 20 – 60 minutes after I’ve received an @ reply or a DM if the notification happens at all. And no, I do not want to know every time someone I’m following posts. Really now.

I really like Twicca aside from it only supports single account unless you keep renewing paid license ($45/yr) as supporter. I agree with Josh that Tweetcaster is bit like cartoon, I like their features and can live with some of the annoyance but the themes are pretty awful and not much customization can be done. Plume is acceptable but list management is nonexistent, you can’t even delete saved searches.

I couldn’t agree more, Josh. I love tweetbot and would love to see something like it on Android. The closest I’ve found is Plume (after customizing the UI like crazy) But like you, I want to have the list functionality that tweetbot has.

I also agree with u regarding what I want in a twitter app. If been trying them out & haven’t found one that I’m satisfied with. I have a Droid x, and I love the mobile twitter.com when I’m on the internet. But my app is completely different, doesn’t have the same features which I don’t understand. Any advice would be appreciated ツ

Twitter just has that problem sometimes.. not even the iPhone app is that good :/ I’ve been just using http://www.Formvote.com lately instead, even though they don’t have an app just yet :l I can’t wait though!

I use Tweetcaster pro and i agree it is overwhelming and extremely poor layout. The themes are pathetic TBH. Apart from the layout, Tweetcaster has a lot of useful features, like a quick selection if you want to send your tweet/post to FB or Twitter or bothm which is handy. The best interface at the moment is Falcon Pro – the layout if setup correct, is clean and all video and image content if fully displayed in each tweet, without the need to press a link or a tiny thumbnail. Best Layout goes to the official twitter imo. However, it has nearly to no settings to play around with. Tweedle is kinda new, reminds me of Plume – ad free also as of now and very nice layout like the official twitter and swipe columns. The best Twitter APP yet has to go to NOKIA’s Gravity. Does everything one could ask. Be nice if Gravity make the app for android too.